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In a changing city, a glitzy Hong Kong gallery grapples with censorship
Hong Kongers queued for the opening of the much-anticipated multimillion-dollar art museum M+, a project bedevilled by delays, spiralling costs, and now the spectre of censorship.
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People look at Flower in the Mirror by Kong Khong-chang on the opening day of the M+ art museum in Hong Kong on November 12, 2021. (AFP/Bertha Wang)
B
etween glass and soaring concrete walls, Hong Kongers queued for the opening of the much-anticipated multimillion-dollar art museum M+, a project bedevilled by delays, spiralling costs, and now the spectre of censorship.
The Kowloon gallery -- built directly above a major train tunnel that for weeks ferried thousands to the 2019 pro-democracy protests -- was supposed to open four years ago, and is the first in Asia dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century visual culture.
While the Swiss-designed venue aims to rival Western leaders in contemporary art curation, critics say it must also grapple with a shrinking space for freedom of expression and growing self-censorship.
And ahead of the opening on Friday attention has focused on the decision to not display a photo series by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the museum.
"Politics shouldn't override art," said Yip, who gave only her surname, while waiting to enter the museum on a bright autumnal morning.
"The current situation is very disappointing," interrupted her husband, also in his sixties.
In the series in question, Ai is showing his middle finger to institutions around the world, including the White House, Germany's Reichstag -- and Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
